Sleepless Nights
by flowerslut
Summary: Nightmares and pillow talk. This wasn't how they thought their relationship would start, but this wasn't something they could control. Rated T for language.
1. Chapter 1

As she walked down the stone-paved road, she bit her lip, her head hanging low as she wandered through the streets of Konoha. Even though it was late and most of the village was fast asleep, she still forced her tears back, her frustration increasing with each tear that found its way out of her eye and down her face. She didn't want to take any chances in case someone saw her out there, meandering and crying in the middle of the night.

The last thing she needed was for someone to ask her "what's wrong?" or "are you alright?" She was never one who was very good at staying composed in emotional situations, but that would just about guarantee her hysterical state to hold strong.

Pulling her jacket tighter around her she gripped the inside of her sleeves, willing the warmth of the thin fabric to spread through her. It was her own fault for not grabbing a heavier coat before leaving the compound. But the weather outside had been the last thing on her mind when she'd stormed out of her house and onto the streets.

"_It isn't right, father!" _She'd cried desperately. _"He gave his life for me. For Naruto! It's the least we could do."_

Hiashi had only shaken his head slowly as she pleaded with him. _"There's nothing I can do. The council is very set in their rules."_

"_Those rules are outdated and the council is _wrong_," _she spoke, a glare etched into her normally soft features.

"_It would be smart to watch your words, Hinata," _Hiashi has retorted shooting back a stern look of his own. _"One day the council will be making this decision for all of us."_

"_Neji doesn't deserve this," _she insisted, still holding strong with her words. _"The phrase 'branch family' shouldn't stop him from getting a proper farewell."_

"_The politics of our clan are very particular—"_

"_Well, the politics of the Hyuuga are awful and need to change!"_

Closing her eyes tightly Hinata attempted to swallow the lump in her throat and instead ended up choking on a sob. Thinking about Neji caused her chest to throb and her head to ache. The war hadn't even ended a month ago and the pain of his death was still fresh in her heart and in her mind.

As she walked she contemplated going to one of her teammate's house but the fact that it was almost four in the morning made her a bit hesitant. She didn't want to wake either Kiba or Shino; Kiba was a heavy sleeper and Shino needed the sleep anyways.

Ino was on a mission, Sakura had been taking the late shift at the hospital and wouldn't be home, and Tenten was probably staying at Lee's still. The two were still working to cope with Neji's death; neither had been able to fully come to terms with it yet (although admittedly Lee was doing much better with each passing day).

She didn't have many options about where to go, and she really, _really_ didn't want to go back to the compound. No, she couldn't go back tonight. It was out of the question. She was too… too _angry_. Too upset. If she came back now and if her father noticed that she was there in the morning he'd probably assume that their disagreement hadn't been a big deal and then continue on with his business as usual.

No, she wouldn't go back. She needed for her father to realize that she was serious; that this _was_ a big deal.

As she trudged through the streets she contemplated what she'd do for the night, all while wishing she had something a little warmer on.

"Hinata? Is that you?"

Stumbling slightly at the sound of his voice she moved quickly, using the end of her sleeves to wipe any trace of tears off of her face. Turning toward him she watched as he approached her, still squinting his eyes at her. "What are you doing walking around this late?"

Forcing a smile onto her face she cleared her throat, "You know, just uh, going for a walk."

He shot her a slightly skeptical look, "Really?" To her relief he shrugged, "Well, it's a little late for that. But I'm not really one to talk," grinning, he held up a plastic bag for her to see, "I did a little bit of late-night shopping at the 24-hour mart on the edge of town."

Hinata looked at the bag and couldn't fight the smile that grew on her face, "Let me guess, ramen?"

Naruto laughed in reply, "That predictable, huh?"

"Just a lucky guess." She giggled quietly, secretly thankful for the darkness around them; she was sure her cheeks were bright red.

Since the end of the war a few weeks ago she hadn't seen Naruto much at all. She couldn't blame him though, between dealing with the aftermath of the war and handling Sasuke's return he was bound to be busy.

"I haven't seen you in a while," Naruto said, voicing her very thoughts back at her, "how're you?" The way he looked at her—eyes soft, smile gentle—made her heartbeat accelerate. This was the first time they'd actually had the time to stop and talk to one another since the war ended. The last time they'd spoken had been directly after the end of the war.

Among the celebration Naruto had found her and enveloped her in a tight hug, spinning her and laughing and crying over and over again "_it's over, it's over, we did it, it's over!_" in her ear.

That embrace turned from ecstatic to melancholy in record timing. Before he released her their celebratory laughter had abruptly turned into tears. No more spinning, no more smiles. They'd simply collapsed to the dirty ground in each other's arms, together mourning the man who gave his life for them.

It hadn't just been their interactions that came to a blunt halt, but the celebrations of all the shinobi ended soon after it had started. There were injured comrades to find and heal, and dead ninja littering the very ground they'd just danced on.

Staring back at Naruto's curious expression, Hinata tried hard to rid those thoughts from her mind. She forced a smile onto her face for him, "I'm doing alright," she spoke cheerily in her poor attempt at fibbing.

Naruto's reaction was automatic, "Are you sure you're alright?" Stepping closer toward her he studied her face, his expression turning from curious to concerned.

"I—" she hesitated, not wanting to lie again but also not wanting to tell him the full truth. She was sure he was dealing with enough on his own, she didn't need to add her anguish to the list of thing he was concerning himself with. "It's just been a long day," she admitted softly.

"Yeah," Naruto smiled, his expression softening considerably at her acknowledgement, "that's understandable." As he kept his eyes fixated on her he offered her another small smile. "Do you wanna talk about it?"

Just as he spoke his words a bright light flashed through the sky. Not even two seconds later a sharp crack of thunder erupted, the loud noise catching both of them off guard and assaulting their senses.

Before either of them could speak another word the sky opened up above them, dropping copious amounts of cold rain onto their heads.

Reacting quicker than she could think, Naruto grabbed her hand and began pulling her after him. He released her once they were under the cover of an awning from a closed shop nearby.

Suddenly, he started laughing. "That was unexpected." Hinata watched as he shook out his hair, water droplets flying from his head, some even bouncing off of her face. "Sorry," he apologized, grinning widely down at her as she wiped the excess water from her face with the sleeves of her jacket.

"It's alright," she smiled up at him, tucking a few wet, heavy strands of hair behind her ear.

"The Hyuuga compound is pretty far from here, isn't it?" He asked, staring up into the sky and watching as the sky flashed again, more thunder following suit.

As Hinata stared out into the pouring rain she frowned. This had been the _last_ thing she needed to happen.

"You should stay at my place tonight."

Those words froze her already freezing-cold body in its tracks. Removing her gaze from the rain she slowly turned her head up to meet Naruto's eyes, only to find a genuine look of concern on his face.

"I'm serious," he said in reply to her dubious look, "I live right over there," he threw a thumb over his shoulder and Hinata's eyes followed, ultimately landing on his large apartment complex which she could clearly see from where they stood. "It's too cold to be walking home in this kind of weather anyways."

"That's true," she whispered to herself, fighting the urge to shiver. The cold was the last thing on her mind though; she'd never even _been_ inside Naruto's apartment before, and now here he was inviting her to stay the night.

"You don't have to, of course," he spoke quickly, perhaps sensing her hesitation, "I just figured since it's so cold out and you're so far from home that maybe—"

"I'll stay," she spoke quickly, feeling borderline guilty that he thought even for a moment that she'd turn down his offer, "thank you." As soon as the words left her mouth her anxiety dropped considerably. She'd found a place to stay for the night which means that now she didn't have to return home against her will.

Naruto's reaction was immediate, "Awesome," he beamed down at her before reaching down and grabbing her hand within his. "Man, you must be freezing," he noted, squeezing her hand in his, "your hands are like _ice_!"

Hinata managed a half-smile, "I'm a little cold," she admitted.

"Well, come on then!" With one last wide smile he pulled her after him and back out into the rain. Following his lead she ran by his side as they sprinted toward his apartment. Jumping from roof to roof she squinted her eyes into the rain so she'd be able to see in front of her, and before she knew it they were already there.

"Phew!" As they made it to the hallway outside his apartment he shook his head wildly, letting more of the rain to fly around him in his poor attempt at drying his hair. "Oh, shoot, I'm sorry!"

Hinata could only laugh in reply, lifting her damp sleeve to wipe the excess rainwater off her cheek again. "It's alright. Akamaru and Kiba do that all the time. I'm used to it."

Smiling sheepishly at her he squeezed her hand again and continued to pull her after him. It wasn't long before they were in his apartment and he'd released her hand to retrieve some towels.

"Sorry it's a little messy in here," he said nervously as he handed her a towel, "I've been sort of busy so I haven't, you know, been able to worry about cleaning up."

"No, it's okay," she assured him. It really wasn't as cluttered as she'd expected it would be. Sure there were a few half-eaten cups of ramen by the sink and she could see a couple of laundry piles beginning to form in some corners, but other than that the place was surprisingly tidy.

"So are you tired? 'Cause you can go to sleep now if you want. I'll probably stay up later anyways but don't mind me."

"Um, a little bit." Truthfully, she was exhausted. After her long day at the compound, and then after wandering around the village for a few hours, she was just about dead on her feet.

"Come on," he beckoned her to follow him with a quick wave of his hand, and before she knew it she was standing in his bedroom, watching as he dug through a couple of his drawers. "You can take my bed," he spoke as he searched for something, "and don't try talking me out of it, 'cause my mind is made up!"

Hinata bit back her reply and couldn't fight the smile that was threatening to take over her face. She had been ready to deny his offer but he was already a couple of steps ahead of her.

"Here," before she was expecting it, he'd shoved a couple of articles of clothing into her hands, "they might be a little big—well, a bit big—but it's better than sleeping in wet clothes."

It was then when Hinata lifted the clothes up so she could get a better look at them; a simple navy blue t-shirt and black shorts. Her heart must've skipped a beat as she thought about how he was offering his own clothes for her to sleep in, and the thought of actually sleeping in something that was his made her chest tighten.

"The bathroom is just around the corner," Naruto spoke, pointing out the door and seemingly unaware of her flustered state, "and I'll just be out there eating probably. So feel free to let me know if you need anything else. Uh, I think that's it?"

Before she could stop herself she'd taken a few determined steps toward him and wrapped her arms around his waist. Biting her lip she tried hard to fight back her tears but of course lost the battle as a few slipped out and fell down her cheeks. This, being with Naruto after such a miserable day, was what she'd needed so desperately.

To his credit he responded to her embrace promptly by returning the hug, pulling her even closer to him, until her face was being firmly pressed against his chest.

"Hey," he said softly, pulling her back from him slightly, "are you alright, Hinata? What's the matter?"

Sniffling, Hinata quickly wiped the tears from her face, chastising herself for her moment of weakness. "I'm okay," she spoke in a shaky voice, "it's just—it's been a really long day." Inhaling deeply she let out a low breath of air as she calmed herself. "I'm just really, really tired."

With a frown spread across his features he didn't look entirely convinced, but he nodded anyways, releasing his hold on her and stepping backward.

"If you need _anything _though," he emphasized, his stare a lot more intense, "just let me know, okay?"

"Okay," she nodded, forcing a smile onto her face in an attempt to ebb his concern. "Thank you, Naruto-kun."

"Alright, goodnight Hinata," and with one final look he'd left the room, closing the door behind him.

Exhaling deeply, Hinata again reexamined the clothing in her hands as she fought back more tears. She'd have to find a way to properly thank him in the morning for what he was doing for her. To him, it may be nothing, but to her, she was eternally grateful for him allowing her to stay the night.

Changing into the fresh clothes Hinata cautiously climbed into his bed, slightly nervous at the thought of sleeping where he had so many, many times before. As she laid her head down on his pillow she inhaled deeply. The fabric smelt just like the clothes—a scent that was entirely comforting and distinctly Naruto's.

She fell asleep that night quickly, dreaming of the times when everyone laughed and smiled together. Back before the war had perverted the world around them. Back before the nightmares stole the smiles of her friends.

Back when Neji was still alive.


	2. Chapter 2

When she'd awoken that morning her mood immediately dampened as she realized that her dreams had been nothing more than figments of her imagination; her subconscious desperately clinging to happier, more peaceful times.

The one thing that evened out her mood was the fact that she was lying, wrapped in Naruto's blanket, still comfy in his warm bed. As she shifted slightly, still in her post-sleep haze, not quite awake yet, something caught her eye.

Sitting on the floor by the door was a piece of paper. Getting out of bed she tip-toed over to pick up the paper, taking note of her dry, folded clothes on the floor beneath it.

_Hinata,_

_ I'm going out for the day. I dried your clothes, I hope you don't mind! You can help yourself to anything in the kitchen if you want! I'll see you later! Hopefully!_

_ -Naruto_

His handwriting was small and messy, but legible nonetheless. Holding the note in her hands she couldn't fight the smile that soon took over her face. It was little things like this that reminded her why she loved him.

She left his apartment soon after waking, of course not before she made his bed, folded the clothes he'd lent her, and left a small note of her own written directly beneath the one that he'd left for her.

_Naruto,_

_ Thank you so much for giving me a place to sleep last night. I'm grateful and I certainly owe you one. Perhaps one of these days I can treat you to lunch in order to properly thank you. I hope to see you later._

_ Hinata_

She'd been hesitant when it came to adding that last part in there, but she knew that she had to take Ino's and Sakura's advice that they'd given her a couple weeks before about being more assertive.

"_You can't be _too_ aggressive though," _Ino had told her. "_Since he apparently likes the whole 'shy, cute, sweet girl' thing that you got going on here._"

"_But you have to make sure to take matters into your hands,_" Sakura added, "_Naruto's dense so he'll never be able to decipher subtle hints or anything like that. You'll just have to take the initiative with things at first and hopefully he'll start picking up on things._"

Of course that conversation hadn't exactly been much of an actual conversation. Since Hinata was still a bit embarrassed at the topic of the potential a relationship between her and Naruto had, she'd mostly just sat and listened to the bits of advice that the two girls gave her.

So perhaps inviting him to lunch was just the type of start she needed in order to kick-start this 'relationship' of theirs. Hinata of course was still hesitant about everything, her insecurities still plaguing her like always, but Sakura had been the one to dissipate most of her fears.

"_He held your hand and thanked you in front of thousands of people," _Sakura had told her a few days after everyone had returned to Konoha, "_Knowing Naruto as well as I do, you mean a lot to him, Hinata. So don't be afraid to be with him."_

Although she tried hard not to let the thought freak her out, she did still find herself anxious at the possibility that her and Naruto truly could become a real couple.

Sighing and trying not to stress herself out about it too much, Hinata ended up spending the day in town keeping herself occupied.

A good majority of her afternoon was actually spent in the hospital helping out. Since the end of the war a few weeks prior, the hospital had been at capacity. There were even large tents set up behind the hospital on the grounds in order to accommodate the insane amount of patients; most of which were veterans of the war.

Those who hadn't lost their lives usually ended up losing something. For some it was a limb or an eye, for others it was their friends, their family, some ninja even lost spouses in the war. One thing they all had in common was their loss of their innocence. For Hinata and for her teammates and comrades, they'd understood that all too well.

So for most of the day she helped out around the hospital, taking orders from whoever was in charge in each different section; mainly Sakura gave her different duties to attend to. Taking vitals from those who were due to be discharged within the week. Helping speed along the healing process of those with more serious wounds and lacerations. She even spent some time in the intensive care ward, changing IVs and redressing wounds.

The amount of shinobi that were still in intensive care put her in a melancholy mood. The war may have been over, but its after-effects were still everywhere.

After spending a good chunk of her day helping out, she soon wandered back into town. Luckily she was able to track Tenten down in order to speak with her; Hinata knew that if anyone would understand what she was feeling right now, Tenten might. She also felt the overwhelming urge to tell _someone_ what was wrong. Keeping something this serious to herself was starting to take its toll on her psyche.

They'd just placed their orders at a small restaurant in the center of town when she abruptly approached the topic.

"They don't want to give Neji a proper burial."

At the sound of her deceased friend's name, Tenten's head shot up to make eye contact. "What?"

"I…" Hinata swallowed the lump that was forming in her throat, urging herself to remain composed, "I was talking to my father about holding a ceremony for him. Usually big ceremonies are only held for main family members, but I think that's ridiculous," she mumbled, her voice quieting down. "For the branch family usually it's very, _very_ small, only the immediate family attends, and there's hardly even a ceremony."

"Is that what they're planning on doing?" Tenten asked, a frown etched deep into her features. Hinata could clearly see the heavy bags under her eyes. She hadn't remembered them looking so purple the last time she'd seen her…

Hinata nodded, "So far that's the plan. But I… I just can't sit by and let that happen." Suddenly she felt herself get so worked up she almost couldn't stop it when she hiccupped, her eyes watering with unshed tears.

"Hey," reaching out across the small table, Tenten took Hinata's hands within her own, squeezing them tightly. "It's alright. I agree with you. It's ridiculous that even after all of this, the Hyuuga are still as cold and detached as ever."

Hinata could sense the burning anger in her friend's voice; she couldn't bring herself to come to the defense of her clan. There were too many changes that needed to take place within her clan in order for her to be more prideful of her family. She was almost ashamed of her clan. Hinata had figured that with Hiashi's change in heart, he'd be able to change the elders, even if only slightly.

"I just don't know what to do. Father is just so insistent that there's nothing that can be done, but there must be _something_! If he can't get through to the council I don't know what else there is to do."

"Maybe try talking to them yourself?" Tenten offered as she sipped her water. "Sure, you may not have any position of authority in your clan _yet_, but they might listen to you."

Hinata shrugged, "I don't know. I doubt it since they've never exactly liked me."

"That was when you were younger though. Look at you now." Tenten smiled at her, "You've grown into one of the strongest kunoichi I know; I don't know many people who've worked harder than you to get where they are now." She stopped and thought for a moment, "Well, besides Lee. But Lee's a bit of a freak when it comes to the over-achieving, hardworking category anyways." Both girls allowed themselves to laugh a little at that. "I'm serious. It would be almost impossible for them not to acknowledge you now." A sly grin fell upon her face, "I mean, even Naruto—in front of _everyone_ even—acknowledged how he was able to do everything he did because of you."

Hinata's face immediately turned red, "He was definitely giving me a little too much credit with that though."

"Don't be so modest," Tenten smiled warmly, "How are the two of you? Things going well?"

"I mean… well, we're not technically together or anything. I just… I guess we're good?" Trying hard not to mumble she worked hard to overcome her embarrassment over the topic. The amount of people who had asked her about Naruto in the past couple of weeks was shocking to her. Sometimes she got butterflies in her stomach when she realized that Naruto could very well be getting questions about her own wellbeing, too.

"Not together _yet_, you mean. When's the last time you saw him?"

She could feel her cheeks reddening, "Um, last night."

Tenten stared at her blankly before leaning forward in her chair. "Oh, my god. Don't tell me you two…"

As Hinata realized what she was insinuating she felt her stomach do flips. "Oh no! No that's not it—I mean, there's nothing like _that_ going on!" Shaking her head she placed her head in her hands momentarily while Tenten laughed at her reply. Looking up she met her friend's eyes again. "I mean, I stayed there last night, but nothing _happened_! I just, I needed somewhere to go after I had the fight with my father."

"Relax girl," Tenten smiled at her, tapping Hinata's leg lightly with her foot, "I'm just messing with you." She laughed again suddenly, thinking intently to herself. "Neji would've scolded me for that one."

Hinata couldn't help but laugh along with her. "Yeah, he would've."

It felt nice to laugh like this. For a moment Hinata closed her eyes and she could almost imagine Neji there with them, glaring at the two and shaking his head in disapproval at their antics. She then pictured him smirking slightly.

God, she missed him.

"If you need a place to stay tonight, I've got a spare bedroom," Tenten offered genuinely. "I know things are probably really tense at home, so you can stay as long as you need to."

Accepting the offer with a deep sigh and a grateful smile, Hinata reminded herself that there were people out there mourning just as much as she was. As she sat and enjoyed a meal with her friend in the back of her mind she hoped that this feeling—this sad, empty grieving—wouldn't last forever.

She didn't think she'd be able to handle it if it did.


	3. Chapter 3

Being blinded by her tears she ran as fast as she could, willing her legs to carry her further and for her chest to stop burning. She was tired. She was so _incredibly_ tired. But no matter how badly her body wanted to, she couldn't stop moving.

Stumbling over a couple of rocks she fell onto all fours roughly, scraping her knees through her pants and rubbing her palms against the hard, rough ground. Wincing slightly at the pain her eyes widened at the sight of her hands; bright red glared back at her.

Standing herself back up abruptly she harshly wiped her hands on her vest, desperately trying to wipe of the blood.

Neji's blood.

But the action did her no good; the blood was already dried. It was under her fingernails, in between her fingers, even staining the sleeves of her shirt.

She couldn't save him. Starting to run again she attempted to blink back a new wave of tears but the attempt was futile. As she picked up her speed she yelled at herself mentally, angry with her inability to do anything, her inability to save him.

Obito's haunting voice still echoed through her head, taunting Naruto and torturing her heart with the words he'd spoken.

Byakugan activated she ran as fast as she could, her vision focused on one thing and one thing only; Naruto's weakened heart-rate.

_Come on_, she begged silently, _hang in there Naruto-kun. Please, please hold on._

Sprinting through the battlefield over countless corpses and dodging kunai and shuriken with every step she took, she struggled hard to keep herself focused ahead of her. She didn't want to see the bodies beneath her feet; she was scared she might recognize some of their faces.

Before she could reach him, she felt his heart beat disappear, his heart stopping in its tracks completely.

"No," she whispered to herself, heart sinking, "no…"

Pushing her legs faster her tears only flowed harder, before she knew it she was sobbing. She wasn't going to reach him in time. She wasn't going to be able to save him.

_Just like Neji,_ a voice in the back of her head taunted.

No. No, she wouldn't let him die. She _couldn't_ let him die.

But as she stared intently, not taking her eyes off his chest across the battlefield, she began to feel sick to her stomach. His heart was hauntingly still.

She closed the gap between them within the next minute, skidding to a stop by his side. Placing one hand on his cheek and another on his chest she lit her hand up with chakra, trying hard to search for the problem. What had happened? One moment he was alright and the next his heart was failing. Looking around desperately confusion immediately took hold of her when she couldn't find Sakura. Scanning the area with her byakugan she searched for the medic; hadn't she been working over Naruto while Hinata was approaching, and suddenly she was—

"There's nothing you can do."

Eyes shooting up she froze when her byakugan met a pair of bright purple rinnegan.

"The kyuubi is now mine," Madara spoke, pulling a black bar out from his sleeve slowly. "No one can survive an extraction."

"No," she whispered, eyes widening, turning back toward Naruto, "that—that can't be."

"All of you will die if you keep fighting," gripping the black rod he pointed it toward her, the end of it only centimeters from her nose. "Give up. Or die."

"He—he can't die," she cried, in denial of what was happening, "I can… I need to save him."

Turning her back on Madara, not caring what happened to her, she placed her hands on his chest and began to press again and again. As she worked over him she couldn't hold in her tears as they fell on his bare, dirty chest.

She hadn't even been working for ten seconds when she was struck on the side of the head, cast aside like a rag doll. Skidding to a halt a few meters away from Naruto, her hand went directly to her head; pulling it back she inhaled sharply as she took note of the fresh blood covering up the old.

"You will not get that chance," the haunting voice spoke coldly.

Turning her head back toward him, her stomach sank as she watched Madara lift of the rod and point it directly at Naruto's head.

Before she could stand up, before she could shout out, the rod had been thrown faster than her byakugan could follow, sinking into Naruto's skull with ease.

* * *

Shooting up in bed she gasped immediately, clamping her hands down tightly over her mouth in an attempt to hold in her cries. She let out a muffled shout, her fear paralyzing her as tears flowed heavily down her face.

The logical side of her mind knew that it was a dream, but she was so terrified; it had felt so vivid, so real. Hinata's body shook harshly, her breathing erratic as she moved to get out of the bed and stand up.

Naruto was okay. Naruto _had_ to be okay. He was fine… wasn't he?

Still trapped in her post-nightmare panic she shuffled around the room quickly, looking for her jacket and shoes. She needed to be sure that he was alright. She had to know.

Heart racing, she opened the window to Tenten's spare bedroom and wasted no time jumping out into the cold weather. She'd explain herself to her friend tomorrow, as for now, she had to make sure her dream had only been that—a dream.

She could feel her heartbeat reverberating through her head; it was all she could hear. As she ran through the village, she desperately hoped that no one would see or recognize her. She was sure that she looked like a complete wreck. In her alarm she activated her byakugan, looking ahead of her and scanning the area desperately. As her sight fell upon Naruto's apartment her stomach dropped when she noted his absence.

Still incoherent she came to an abrupt halt on a rooftop near his apartment complex. Gripping her head she let a cry slip through her clenched teeth.

As she began to hyperventilate, the rational side of her mind kicked in.

_Just breathe_, she told herself, _you're overreacting. It was just a dream. Breathe._

"I think I hear something," she heard a voice speak from below the building she was on. As she turned her head toward the sound, she found herself stumbling backward when suddenly a dark figure stood before her.

Before her mind could register who it was she cried out, stumbling backward as she desperately tried to get away.

Falling onto her backside, she looked up at Sasuke, completely taken aback by his appearance. Seeing her reaction to his presence he frowned, taking a couple of steps backward toward the edge of the roof. Seeing the tired hesitance in his eye—his left being covered to hide his rinnegan from the judging eyes of the village—she immediately felt guilty. He couldn't help the family resemblance he held to Madara, but the fear upon sight of his dark, wild hair and eerie overwhelming presence was something she just couldn't control.

Deactivating her byakugan she thought quickly, desperately trying to think of a way to explain her ridiculous reaction to his appearance, but before she could utter some sort of excuse of her behavior, he'd turned his back slightly.

"You'd better come up here," he spoke loudly, talking down toward someone who was still on the ground, Hinata presumed.

"Why? What's going on?"

The familiar voice immediately alleviated her panic. Jumping onto the roof and landing directly beside Sasuke, Naruto's eyes immediately found her.

"Hinata? What're you doing out—" his words stopped suddenly after he'd taken a couple of steps toward her. Eyes widening he rushed to her side within seconds. "What's wrong? What happened?"

At the sight of him so close to her—eyes wide, breathing, _alive_—she exhaled a shaky breath. "I was—I had a nightmare—and you," she hiccupped, "and you were…"

Images of him from her dream, cold, unmoving, and lifeless, flashed through her mind. Unable to speak any further through her overwhelming relief she simply raised a shaky hand and held it against his chest.

"Hey," wrapping her in a tight hug Naruto held her closely, "hey, it's alright. You're alright."

As his warmth spread through her, she let out a relieved cry, returning the hug with ferocity, clinging to him with all her might. She tried hard to hold in her tears, but she couldn't stop the emotions that were rushing through her.

"You're okay. You're really okay," she whimpered, her face pressed against the front of his jacket.

"Yeah, I'm okay. And so are you," he whispered, rubbing her back.

For several minutes they remained like that. Naruto stayed at her side, kneeling down with his arms wrapped around her. She whimpered as she clung to him tightly; her fingers started to hurt after a little while, but she was too afraid to let go. She couldn't exactly recall what Naruto had said to Sasuke or when Sasuke had left, but after she'd calmed down enough to stand up she'd noted his absence immediately.

"See? There we go, just breathe. Good," smiling down at her, he kept his arms around her even as they stood on the rooftop. "You're alright. We're both alright."

"I'm sorry," she mumbled, moving her hands up to cover her face out of shame, "I'm so sorry, Naruto-kun. I don't know what came over me I just—I'm so embarrassed."

"It's okay Hinata, I understand," slowly he began to release his hold on her, letting his arms fall to his sides, but not before taking her hand in his own. "It's late though. I can walk you home if you want?"

At the offer, her stomach sank. She'd already started shaking her head before she'd given him a verbal reply.

"No," she said sternly, "I… I mean, no thank you. I just," she bit her lip nervously, "I don't really want to go home."

"You want to stay at my place again?" he offered without hesitation. "I actually did some cleaning today, so the place won't be _too_ messy," he joked lightly, squeezing her hand slightly in an attempt to lighten the mood.

At first she paused, thinking it over. She felt bad—really, really bad—about invading his space for another night and burdening him with her over-emotional presence. But truthfully she was too afraid to go back to Tenten's with the nightmare still fresh in her mind.

"I don't want to intrude again…"

Naruto let out a quick laugh, "Please, you're not 'intruding'. I like having you around! It's _so_ much better than just sitting alone by myself."

She suddenly felt light as she took in his words. With his admission that he liked having her around, she fought back a small, gentle smile. "Thank you," averting her eyes she lifted her hand back to her face, trying hard to cover the emotions that were threatening to appear in the form of more tears.

"Hey," removing her hand from her face he smiled gently, "let's get going, okay?"

Unlike the night before, instead of running from rooftop to rooftop, rushing to get out of the rain and under some cover, they walked at a leisurely pace to his apartment complex.

He didn't once let go of her hand.

"You can take my bed again," he spoke as they walked through his apartment. As Hinata looked around she could only notice a very slight difference in that there were no longer old ramen cups lying around. The piles of laundry though were still present. At that fact Hinata couldn't help but smile.

"And…" turning to look at her, he smiled, "I see you're already in your pajamas."

For a moment Hinata took a good look at herself and felt herself cringe. She must've looked ridiculous to Sasuke and Naruto, sitting on a rooftop in her pajamas, having a panic attack, all because of some stupid nightmare.

"So I guess you're all set," he spoke after a moment, holding an arm out as if he were presenting his bed to her, "here you go!"

Hinata didn't move right away, simply looking at the bed with a hesitant look. Still shaken up by her nightmare, she wasn't so sure falling back asleep was something she wanted to do at that moment.

Thankfully Naruto sensed her aversion and dropped his arm back to his side. "So I uh, take it you're not exactly tired, huh?"

She forced a smile onto her face, feeling slightly guilty for burdening him with her presence. He, just like everyone else, must have had a lot on their mind; he was probably as stressed out, if not more so, than she was.

"Not really."

Naruto shrugged nonchalantly, "Well, that's okay! What do you want to do?"

She took a moment to herself, looking around his room slowly. "Um, we can just… hang out?"

For a moment she braced herself for some type of hesitance or even a rejection, silently panicking over asking such a straight-forward, bold question.

"Sure!"

But his enthusiastic reply immediately caused her anxiety to dissipate. The smile that broke across his face caused Hinata's chest to flutter; she couldn't help but smile back at him shyly.

"Come on." As he spoke he walked toward her with a kick in his step, grabbing her hand once more as he passed. "I'll make us some ramen."

Staring at his smile she followed closely behind as he pulled her out of his bedroom and toward his kitchen. Eyes shifting toward their interlocked hands, she held on a little tighter, heart still racing at the intimate contact.

If she had it her way, she'd never let go.


	4. Chapter 4

"See, the thing is that Sasuke's fine for the most part. He's listened to all of granny Tsunade's requests and he's gone along with pretty much everything. _But_, for some reason he won't apologize!" Lifting his bowl of ramen and sipping on the broth greedily, Naruto placed the bowl down on the table a little too roughly, causing it to spill slightly. "I mean, I know he's stubborn, but this is literally the easiest request and the _one_ request he hasn't listened to. And it wasn't even requested by granny! It was requested by the freaking council!" Frustrated, Naruto placed his elbows on the table—not even caring that his jacket was currently soaking up spilt ramen—and rested his head in his hands. "He's so aggravating."

Hinata listened intently as she ate her ramen, her eyes focused into her bowl as she thought to herself. Hinata knew Sasuke as well as she knew the Tsuchikage—which was not at all. She'd never spoken to him and their interaction was extremely limited. In fact, her reaction to him on the roof was the most time she'd ever spent alone together with him. Although she supposed truthfully they weren't really alone with Naruto only meters away the entire time.

"So all he has to do is say sorry?"

"Pretty much," Naruto half-shrugged, "I mean, it'd be a bit better worded then just a plain 'I'm sorry', but that's really all he has left to do."

"Perhaps Kakashi or even Sakura could talk to him about it, too?" She offered, not exactly knowing what to say but giving another option to try and be polite. But after she spoke she regretted it; the way Naruto's eyes darkened upon mention of Sakura's name made her with she hadn't even opened her mouth.

"Kakashi-sensei hasn't really spoken to him too much. He's still really busy with all sorts of political crap between the nations." Naruto pouted at this, "He's like granny Tsunade's little messenger. Or helper. Or whatever the word is."

"Ambassador?"

Naruto snapped his fingers, "Yes! That's it, ambassador." He shot her a thankful smile before lifting his bowl up again, slurping up more broth. "But I see Sasuke every day. Or night I guess." He frowned slightly as he placed the bowl back down. "He doesn't like going out during the daytime. Too many people."

Hinata nodded absentmindedly. It made sense of course, to want to avoid being in the public eye, especially when people were always watching your every move and whispering things about you.

"What about Sakura?" She asked, voice quiet and unsure. Although she'd usually avoid topics that she had a feeling would end with a not-so-positive conversation, her curiosity was truly getting the better of her. She supposed the lack of sleep she'd gotten in the past few days was contributing to her lack of a filter.

Naruto let out a long sigh, shaking his head. "Sakura-chan has been," he paused, as if looking for the right words, "a bit hesitant about… things."

Hinata frowned as he spoke. Sakura was one of her best friends; she knew that throughout everything that had happened the girl had never stopped loving Sasuke, even when he was at his lowest. But thinking back before the war, an uneasiness settled in the pit of her stomach when she remembered hearing about how the two estranged teammates had attempted to take each other's lives.

Eyes fluttering up to study Naruto's face for a quick moment, she averted her eyes swiftly. She didn't know how Sakura had done it; how she'd built up enough strength and courage to try to kill the one you love most, even if for their own sake.

Switching their roles, Hinata couldn't even imagine having to kill Naruto, no matter how corrupt or destructive he became. She loved Naruto, but she didn't have that kind of strength to go through with something so torturous.

_Always so selfish_, she thought to herself.

"She's been keeping pretty busy at the hospital," Hinata commented, trying to keep the conversation from getting _too_ awkward. "I saw her yesterday. She's been working hard."

"Yeah," Naruto agreed, frown still on his face, "a bit too hard if you ask me. She hadn't left the hospital since last Saturday."

Hinata blinked, mouth slightly agape. She hadn't known her friend had been overworking herself. And she had a feeling that the return of a certain Uchiha had a lot to do with it.

"I hope she doesn't get herself sick working so much," Hinata voiced her genuine concern, placing her hands in her lap and staring down at them.

Naruto shrugged, "Both of them can be stubborn as hell when they want to. It's just a matter of which asshole can out-last the other one." Shooting Hinata a quick look, he smiled sheepishly, "Sorry." He apologized, clearly not feeling entirely comfortable swearing around her.

She let out a small laugh, "It's alright."

He gave her a small smile before shaking his head. "I'm happy to have him back, y'know?" He stared into his empty bowl of ramen. "But I just… I wish that things could go back to normal."

"Naruto…" Hinata looked at him sadly.

"I know, I know. It's ridiculous to think that things could go back to the way they were; especially after all the shit that's happened." His eyes flashed up to hers again. "Sorry. Again."

She gave him another gentle smile, "It's okay, Naruto-kun. I honestly don't mind." She didn't think she had to remind him that Kiba swore _all_ the time. She'd heard it all and her teammate's affinity to use mainly swears in his vocabulary had never fazed her in the first place.

"Even doing something small, like sitting with Sasuke and Sakura at Ichiraku's…" he smiled at the thought. "Even that would be good enough for me."

Pained at seeing Naruto so defeated made her chest ache. Feeling confident, reaching across the table she grabbed one of his hands and squeezed it in an attempt at reassurance. "Give it time, Naruto."

Squeezing her hand back and shooting her a small, but grateful smile, he shook his head. "I know. I'm just not really good at being patient, ya know?"

She smiled back, "It takes practice."

"I bet," grinning back at her, he squeezed her hand once more before releasing it and standing up, "I'm going to get myself another bowl; you want anything?"

Eyes finding her half-eaten ramen bowl, she shook her head and smiled, watching as he strode back into the kitchen. She hadn't been particularly hungry, but she couldn't bring herself to turn away from the chance of eating a meal with Naruto in his own home.

"Enough about me," he spoke, returning promptly with his bowl filled to the brim once more with steaming-hot ramen, "how have you been doing?" Sitting back down across from her he took a few generous, messy bites before placing down his chopsticks and looking at her expectantly.

"I've been… okay." She spoke, placing her hands in her lap and avoiding eye contact.

"Just okay?" He asked, as if waiting for a more elaborate answer.

"Yeah," she spoke, trying to make her statement more believable by raising her voice slightly in pitch, "I'm doing okay." She forced a smile onto her face, still avoiding meeting his gaze, taking an almost too-large bite of her soup in front of her.

"I don't really believe that."

Shocked, Hinata finally looked up at him with wide eyes, "Excuse me?" She was expecting him to have some sort of smirk on his face, perhaps getting a laugh at of making her suddenly nervous, but instead she found him staring back at her, mouth in a straight line and expression entirely serious.

"Hinata," he leaned forward slightly, brow furrowed with concern, "I just found you running around the village, hysterical, in your pajamas." His expression changed slightly to a pained one; he was worried. "That's not 'okay'."

Biting the inside of her cheek Hinata was suddenly embarrassed. Sure, she didn't want him to worry about her, but lying to him about it was definitely not the right way to go about doing things.

"I'm sorry, Naruto." Her quiet words were spoken barely above a whisper as she lowered her head to stare in shame at her hands in her lap.

"Hey," she didn't see him move around the table to be on the same side as her but suddenly she felt his arm fall over her shoulders "it's alright."

"I'm sorry," she repeated, her voice cracking slightly, "I didn't want to worry you and… and you've been so busy I didn't want to add on to your stress or anything like that. I'm sure you don't need another thing to worry about—"

"Hinata," grabbing her shoulders he gently turned her toward him, lifting her chin with his finger, forcing him to look up at him, "I'll always worry about you."

Her eyes widened slightly, "Oh, no. Naruto I really don't want you to worry—"

"I'll always worry," he interrupted, restarting his sentence, "because I care about you."

Suddenly her breath was caught in her throat and she was immediately rendered speechless. Staring into his light blue eyes she could see the truth in his look alone.

"Hey," he repeated, his face contorting with worry, "hey, why are you crying?" Embarrassed, Hinata quickly lifted her arms and began wiping her tears away; she hadn't meant to let her emotions take over, but she couldn't exactly control them recently. "Hey, Hinata," grabbing her hands within his own he stopped her desperate rubbing at her face, leaning toward her more, "don't cry. Please don't cry?"

"I'm sorry," she sniffled, blinking rapidly to try and clear her eyes of any excess tears, "I didn't expect that."

"Expect what? For me to tell you that I care about you?" He asked incredulously. "Of course I care about you!" He paused for a moment, his eyes flickering from her face, to his window, and back to her face again. His mood seemed to dampen almost instantaneously. "I'm sorry if I haven't made that very clear. I'm not really good at this stuff." He sighed, scratching the back of his head, "I've always cared about you though. I mean, I care about you more now, but like, I always did even before everything, ya know?"

By the time he'd finished speaking she was already crying again, arm lifted to cover her eyes from his sight as she held in her sobs. But without her meaning to, a whimper slipped out of her mouth and before she knew it she was hysterical again.

Within seconds she felt warm arms embrace her tightly, completely surrounding her with comforting warmth.

"I'm sorry," she cried, her voice being muffled against his chest, "I'm sorry, Naruto."

"Oh, Hinata." His arms tightened around her. "Don't cry. _Please_ don't cry. Please don't be sad. Please." He began rubbing her back and eventually pulled her into his lap in order to hold her closer. "I wish you wouldn't cry. I wish I could make it so you're never sad again."

His words which were meant to calm her down only caused her tears to continue cascading down her face, her emotions pouring out in an uncontrollable flood.

He held her for a while, arms securely around her, holding her to him as he rubbed her back. Every now and then he'd whisper more to her, about how she was alright, and how he hated seeing her so upset. Eventually as he comforted her she began to calm down, her breathing steadying itself and her tears halting.

Without being prompted, she began talking in a quiet, small voice about her argument with her father, telling him about their disagreement, about Neji's burial situation, about how she stormed out of her home a couple nights before and hadn't gone back since. As she spoke she could feel Naruto reacting to her words; at one point she felt him stiffen beneath her, his arms tightening around her.

"They can't do that," he spoke after she'd been silent for a few, long seconds. "Why would they do that?"

Hinata could feel the anger, the frustration building inside of him. "The council has their ways," she said tiredly, "They're very stubborn and—"

"Wrong," he said sternly, cutting her off. "They're wrong. They can't do that. Neji is… he's a hero! He saved your life, he saved _my_ life! He deserves a proper send-off!"

"I know," she whispered, lifting up her head to look at him. But as she met his eyes she realized how close together they were; there were only centimeters separating their faces. She could feel his breath on her face. "That's what I was saying. But my father keeps insisting that there's nothing that can be done."

"No," he shook his head. "There's no way I'm going to believe that. There has to be something that can be done." The paused for a moment. "Let me talk to them. The council."

Hinata's eyes widened, "I don't know, Naruto…"

"If they listen to me and it fails, at least I tried," he shrugged, "but we need to do _something_."

"I know," she admitted quietly, her head falling again, "Just… I can't go back to the compound just yet."

"That's alright," he squeezed her, his arms still wrapped around her, "when are they planning on doing the little ceremony?"

"In about a week or so, why?"

"That gives us some time," he nodded, seemingly pleased at having an idea to put into action. He looked down at her again, "You should've told me sooner."

"I know, I just… didn't want to give you another thing to worry about. You've been busy with Sasuke and—"

Naruto cut her off with an abrupt laugh, "Sasuke's a big boy. He can deal with wandering around by himself for a few days. Actually I'm pretty sure he'd prefer that." He smirked at the thought and she couldn't help but smile too. "Come on," all of the sudden he moved his hands around her waist and lifted her to her feet, "let's get you in bed."

A minute later they were in his room. She was crawling in his bed and he was standing beside it, watching as she climbed underneath the covers.

"So you're sure you don't need anything?" He asked, fiddling with his hands as he watched her make herself comfortable. "A glass of water? Another blanket?"

She silenced him by smiling up at him. "I'm fine Naruto. Thank you."

"So uh, I guess I'll see you in the morning?" He asked, shifting from one foot to the other, hands shoved in his pockets.

Hinata had to suppress a giggle, "Yes."

"Okay," he grinned brightly down at her before turning around and walking toward his door.

"Naruto," she called out to him before he could leave the room. As he turned she felt her chest flutter, "Thank you. For this," she gestured to the bed, "for everything, really."

"Don't worry about it," he smiled, his features more gentle. "Goodnight Hinata."

"Goodnight Naruto," she whispered after he'd closed the door behind him.

She fell asleep that night, wondering what it would be like to wish him goodnight every night.


	5. Chapter 5

Hinata was never one to sleep in, so when she finally awoke and let her eyes wander toward the alarm clock on the night stand with a hazy look, she wasn't expecting it to be way past noon.

Jumping up abruptly out of bed she was almost embarrassed for sleeping so late, and once she realized that she didn't have any other clothes besides the pajamas she was wearing—which weren't even hers—she became even more embarrassed.

She hoped Tenten hadn't been worried when she noted her absence in the morning and she was secretly panicking that her friend might think that something bad had happened.

Tiptoeing over toward the door she slowly opened it, only to find herself surprised.

Naruto turned his head toward her and grinned from where he stood across the room. "Hey! Good morning sleepyhead."

Hinata blushed slightly, hiding most of her body behind the door, "Good morning." She paused. "Or, well, afternoon I guess."

Naruto only laughed in reply, "Yeah, you're right about that."

"I didn't mean to sleep so long," she mumbled as an excuse, "I must've just been so tired and—"

Naruto's laugh cut her off. "Don't worry about it. I'm glad you got to catch up on your sleep!"

Hinata smiled back at him, feeling at ease upon hearing his assuring words.

"Why are you hiding behind the door though?"

She'd forgotten that she was awkwardly peering around the door until he pointed it out. Immediately she opened the door a little more before stepping out completely so she wouldn't come off as strange. "I sort of don't have any other clothes," she said timidly, looking down at the silk pajama's she'd been lent.

"You're a little too small to fit into my clothes," he said, scratching his temple as he approached her, seemingly thinking hard, "but I'm sure Sakura could lend you some!" Proud of his idea he then turned around and walked toward his door, slipping on his sandals. "Oh yeah, and I like your pajamas," he grinned at her as he pulled his shoes on. "Pink looks good on you."

Hinata could help but smile back at him shyly, praying she didn't look as emotional and mushy as she felt. "Thank you, Naruto-kun. The pajamas are Tenten's though."

"Ah," he nodded to himself, "you still look nice though." Standing straight up he grabbed his orange jacket from a hook by his door before shooting her one last grin. "I'll be back soon. With Sakura maybe."

She couldn't help but smile back widely, "I'll be here," she said, shrugging; as if she had anywhere else to go.

After he'd closed the door behind him, Hinata could help but giggle again softly.

_Pink looks good on you._

Trying not read too far into the compliment, she reminded herself that Naruto was a nice, kind person who probably complimented people all the time; that's just the person he was! But she wouldn't deny the fact that she wished it had meant something more.

Looking around his small apartment, she realized that she was basically stranded there until Naruto came back with some clothes for her.

Not knowing what else to do she decided to put herself to work.

It didn't take long to tidy up the apartment since it wasn't very big, but by the time she'd finished she'd filled two garbage bags completely. Afterwards she decided to do his dishes after peering into the sink.

She didn't know how often he washed his dishes, but she was sure that it wasn't often enough.

Not even an hour later, as she stood by his sink finishing up her work, she heard the door open and the sound of sandals being slipped off made her smile.

"I decided to do some tidying up since you're letting me stay here and all—"

But as she turned toward the front door, she found herself so startled that she ended up jumping slightly, the plate she'd held in her grasp shattering across the floor.

Sasuke stared back at her, clearly just as surprised as she was.

Slightly panicked and completely embarrassed, Hinata immediately kneeled down and began to pick up the pieces of shattered glass off of the floor. "I—I'm sorry," she apologized, the words coming out a little too loud and a little too quickly, "I just thought you were Naruto and I wasn't expecting to see you and I just…"

Cringing inwardly at her awful attempt at an excuse she decided that it was a better idea to just keep her mouth shut. What she wasn't expecting was for him to walk across the room and bend down slightly, helping her to pick up the shards of glass.

He didn't say anything, nor did he look her in the eye as he worked. Soon enough they'd cleared the floor of any visible glass.

"I'll have to sweep to make sure I got it all," she commented quietly as she brushed her hands off on her pants. She then forced herself to look toward Sasuke, who stood a few feet away with his hands shoved into his pockets. "So, uh… hi."

The moment the words left her mouth she wanted to kick herself. She didn't even know why she was trying to initiate conversation with him; as far as she'd heard from other people, he wasn't much of a talker nor was he very friendly. But she just figured she'd try; after all, he _was_ Naruto's best friend.

"Where's Naruto?" He didn't even bother looking at her as he spoke. Instead he just let his eye scan the room; probably noting how clean it was.

Her eyes widened upon realizing the obvious reason that he was there. "He uh, went out for a little bit. He should be back soon."

"Out where?"

Before she could answer, the sound of bickering just outside of Naruto's front door caused both of their heads to turn toward the front of the apartment.

"You're ridiculous. Don't touch my clothes." The voice was distinctly Sakura's.

"I didn't mean to drop it," she could hear Naruto whine, "and it's not my fault a dog ran off with it."

"I don't care."

"How was I supposed to know it was your favorite shirt?!"

As the door swung open and as they caught sight of the two people standing inside of the apartment, their argument came to an abrupt halt.

"Sasuke," Naruto blinked his eyes a few times, as if confused at his appearance, "what are you…" when his eyes widened in realization he lifted a hand and slapped it against his head. "Damnit! Was that meeting-thing today?"

"Was," Sasuke grumbled. "This morning. And you missed it."

"Shit! I'm sorry, man. It totally slipped my mind."

Hinata could see Sasuke's eyebrow quirk. "I reminded you last night."

"Yeah, but I mean like… I was busy."

Hinata wasn't sure if she was seeing things, but she could've sworn she watched Sasuke's uncovered eye flicker over toward her and then back toward Naruto.

"I can see that."

His words seemed innocent but Hinata could hear the underlying tone to his statement. Realizing what he was insinuating she could feel her face light up bright red out of humiliation.

She didn't want anyone thinking _that_ was what she was doing at Naruto's apartment in pajamas. But the more she thought about it, the more she realized that what he was suspicious of was _exactly_ what it looked like.

The room fell into an awkward silence after that. Naruto had taken a couple of steps inside, but Sakura was still standing in the doorway, a bag of clothes in her arms, and a shocked look on her face.

Thankfully, Naruto broke the silence before it became unbearable. "So, Hinata," he called, gaining her attention, "Sakura brought you some clothes."

At the sound of someone saying her name, Sakura seemed to snap out of her haze as she looked toward Hinata, offering a small smile. Walking completely into the apartment, she closed the door behind her before walking briskly up to Hinata, placing the bag in her hands.

Hinata couldn't help but notice how Sasuke had visibly stiffened as the pink-haired kunoichi walked by him.

"I didn't exactly know how many clothes to bring you, since I obviously don't know how long you'll be here," she gave her a sympathetic look, "but Naruto told me a little about what was happening, so I brought enough clothes for like, three days."

Hinata smiled, accepting the clothes and shooting her friend a grateful look. "Thank you so much, Sakura."

Sakura smiled back, "That's what friends do. Also," she shot Naruto a wry look over her shoulder, "feel free to come over to my place if he gets unbearable."

"Hey," Naruto complained with a frown as he approached the two girls, "at least be nice to me in my own apartment."

"Please," Sakura scoffed, flipping her hair over her shoulder, "I _am_ being nice. I could've said so much worse."

Naruto pouted slightly. "Well, at least Hinata appreciates me." Walking up to her he surprised her by pulling her into a tight hug, lifting her feet off the ground as he pouted toward Sakura, as if proving his statement.

Taken off guard by the notion, Hinata quickly dropped the bag of clothes and wrapped her arms around Naruto's neck, letting out a quiet squeak as he lifted her into the air.

Sakura let out a laugh, "Yeah, yeah. Let the girl down now. You're going to squeeze the life out of her."

"At least I've got you on my side," Naruto grinned, winking as he carefully placed her back on her feet.

Hinata smiled back at him, unable to stop the grin that overtook her face.

Turning around completely, Naruto then looked toward Sasuke. "I swear I'll go to the next one."

Sasuke scowled, "There might not _be_ a next one."

Naruto blinked, "What? Why not?"

"Is anyone going to fill me in here," Sakura asked out of annoyance, turning so she was facing both of them,

Sasuke paid her no attention. "There might be a trial after all."

"What?" Naruto said, as if not truly believing what he was hearing. "But—but Granny Tsunade said you'd be good to go, and that there wouldn't be a need to go through with it. She basically assured that you'd be okay. And safe!"

"Well that's not the case anymore."

"I don't understand that just doesn't make any—" stopping his words abruptly, a suspicious look fell over his face. "Sasuke… you better not tell me you're refusing to make the statement."

When Sasuke didn't reply, and instead crossed his arms over his chest, Naruto just about lost it.

"You're kidding me," he mumbled quietly, "you've got to be _fucking_ kidding me."

"What?" Sakura asked desperately, looking from Naruto to Sasuke and back to Naruto again. "Someone please tell me what's going on!"

"You know the trial that Granny got dismissed?" Naruto asked, not even turning to look Sakura in the eye. "The one that would decide whether Sasuke would be executed or not?" Sakura nodded slowly, her eyes widening. "Well, that trial might happen now. And it's all because you're a stubborn asshole, Sasuke."

Suddenly, Naruto's words from the night before flew through Hinata's mind.

"_So all he has to do is say sorry?"_

"_Pretty much," Naruto half-shrugged, "I mean, it'd be a bit better worded then just a plain 'I'm sorry', but that's really all he has left to do."_

Hinata had heard that the Uchiha man was stubborn, but to risk the death penalty simply to avoid apologizing… that was taking stubborn to an entirely new, extremely ridiculous level.

"You can't be serious." Sakura whispered, looking from Naruto to Sasuke. "Tell me he's joking."

Sasuke merely stared back at her, his gaze cold, not saying a word.

"Are you stupid?!" She yelled, shocking Hinata to the point where she actually jumped. "You're supposed to present your apology to the nations, and that's supposed to be it. Why is that so hard for you to do?"

Sasuke held his glare. "I don't have to explain—"

"Yes you _do_!" She yelled, balling her hands into fists angrily. "Naruto and I have worked our _asses_ off to keep you alive. Do you not understand that? Do you not care if you get executed? Are you ready to die all because of your damn pride?!"

Unable to look away from the scene before her, Hinata found herself almost frightened; she'd never seen Sakura this angry before. The girl's whole body was shaking with fury and she was genuinely surprised she hadn't lunged at Sasuke yet.

"I never asked for help," he spoke, his voice low and angry.

"Of course not!" Sakura scoffed. "Because of your damn pride!" She took a couple of steps closer toward him. "Why is it so hard to have someone help you? Why is it so fucking hard to believe that there are people that care about you enough to fight for your life?"

Watching as Sakura got into Sasuke's face, Hinata stepped forward slightly, grabbing hold of Naruto's sleeve and holding onto it tightly. She felt as if she shouldn't be seeing this. As if she were intruding on something that she had absolutely nothing to do with. It was painful how out-of-place she felt.

"What?" Sakura asked when Sasuke's merely stared back at her. "Nothing to say?" She huffed, backing up a couple of steps. "Why should I even be surprised? You never have anything to say to me," she spat the words out with venom, still backing away. Looking toward Naruto she simply shook her head. "I can't do this anymore Naruto, I can't handle—I'm sorry."

Turning around Sakura stormed out of the apartment, leaving an uncomfortable silence in her absence. Hinata was positive she'd seen tears well up in Sakura's eyes before leaving. The pit she felt in her stomach made her feel for the girl. She hated seeing her friends like this…

"You know, if you don't talk to her soon," he spoke quietly, addressing his best friend, "you're going to lose her entirely; _for good_." Naruto's voice was strained, fighting against his own emotion. "You need to work with us here, or there'll be nothing we can do."

Sasuke didn't say anything, nor did he look at Naruto again. He merely stared at the closed door that Sakura had just ran out of. After a few long seconds, he shook his head, walking toward the door and making an exit of his own.

And then silence took hold once more.

Hinata stood, shocked at how things got so heated so quickly. She'd heard about Sakura's temper and Sasuke's indifference to everything around him, but witnessing both firsthand made Hinata stop and think hard about how those were things that she wasn't _meant_ to witness.

It wasn't until a full minute later when she looked back up to Naruto. Not able to see his face fully, she made a move to stand in front of him, only to be taken aback when he turned his head away from her sharply.

The hand she'd been gripping his sleeve with suddenly released it, starting up at him with shock. But she knew she couldn't ignore this; she couldn't let him push her away.

"Naruto-kun," she whispered slowly, reaching up toward his face with a hand. Before she could touch his face he grabbed her wrist, stopping her from doing so.

"Hinata…" she could hear the heavy emotion in his voice, "I—I'm fine."

Frowning, she remained undeterred, lifting her other arm and finally placing her fingertips on his far cheek, turning his head so that she could look him in the eye. Her gaze immediately softened as she took in his face. "Naruto," she cupped his cheek, wiping away a tear, "no you're not."

So when Naruto broke down while standing in the middle of his apartment, Hinata fell to her knees with him, holding him close to her. She tried hard not to let her own emotions affect her—really, she did—but she couldn't fight against the tears as they poured from her eyes. It broke her heart to see him like this.

Watching the love of her life crumble in a heap of sobs in front of her caused her heart to shatter completely.

He was sunshine. He was happiness and hope and determination all in one. He was Uzumaki Naruto and he was the hero of the shinobi world.

And he was currently sitting on the floor, crying, and clinging tightly to a girl who loved him with all her heart.

Hero or not, he was as human as the rest of them.

"It's going to be okay," she whispered, trying not to let her voice crack, "things will be fine, Naruto-kun."

But even as she whispered to him, she knew that this wasn't something she could promise.

So instead she did the only thing she could do; she held him closely and didn't let go.


	6. Chapter 6

The rest of the day passed quickly, yet quietly. With Naruto still upset over the earlier confrontation with his teammates, Hinata found herself doing most of the talking. But, not being much of a talker, their conversations were mainly short.

They spent a few hours during the afternoon together, Naruto helping her finish up cleaning and Hinata offering repeatedly to replace the dish she'd dropped and broken. Of course Naruto had turned toward her and smirked, shaking his head and adamantly refusing to let her buy him anything, especially not a single plate.

Eventually they both left the apartment at the same time for different destinations. Hinata to seek out Tenten, and Naruto to report to the Hokage tower. Although Hinata had the distinct feeling he'd be seeking out one or both of his teammates after his little meeting with Tsunade-sama.

Thankfully Tenten was still at her apartment and as soon as Hinata began to apologize profusely for leaving in the middle of the night the older kunoichi shook her head and smirked knowingly, telling her that she could hold onto the pajamas until after she left Naruto's and returned home. Hinata had left the apartment, slightly embarrassed at the fact that Tenten assumed that she would be remaining at Naruto's and slightly flustered over the fact that she was _right_.

Walking through town Hinata stopped by a couple shops, eventually grabbing a bite to eat before she began walking again. Once she realized that she was unconsciously walking in the direction of the Hyuuga compound she froze, immediately turning on her heel and walking briskly in the complete opposite direction. She'd already been gone for a few nights without notifying her family; she couldn't simply return now and expect not to be interrogated about her actions.

No, she'd already gone this long away from home, she couldn't simply turn back now. Especially when she was still so upset from the altercation with her father; she could hardly imagine speaking to him let alone allowing him to lecture her.

Not knowing where else to go, and not exactly wanting to return to Naruto's apartment just yet, she found herself walking a familiar path across town.

Tsume and Hana had always been immensely kind toward Hinata and at times even a bit intimidating with their brashness, something that used to frighten Hinata when she was younger. Now, instead of making her nervous, Hinata simply giggled whenever the two would poke fun at Kiba or work as a team to embarrass him.

She did find herself surprised when she ventured onto the front porch of her teammate's household and was informed that he wasn't there.

"He's with Shino somewhere," Kiba's sister, Hana, informed her as she leaned lazily against the door frame, scratching behind the ears of a large dog that stood to her side. "I think they were looking for you, actually."

After thanking the girl profusely, Hinata took off again, trying hard to find her teammates. It wasn't _uncommon_ for Kiba and Shino to hang out outside of missions and training, but it usually only happened when she was there too. She could only imagine where they were and what they were doing.

But after a visit to Shino's house and after a rather short conversation with his father, she left with no further clue as to where the two were.

_They were looking for you._

She thought over Hana's words and then realized that they most likely had gone to look for her at the compound, and finding her not there, they could be looking for her anywhere.

Wandering around the village for a little bit longer and not seeing either of her teammates anywhere she instead decided to return to Naruto's.

Only to find her teammates already there.

"A-ha!" Kiba declared as she stepped foot into the apartment with wide eyes and mouth slightly agape. "Told you she was here!"

"I never said she wasn't." Shino deadpanned from where he stood, leaning against the far wall and looking out the window.

"I—what are you guys—is Naruto here?"

"Nah," Kiba shook his head, "but we traced your scent and wound up here." He was currently lying back on Naruto's couch, his feet propped up with Akamaru resting on the floor beside him. Lifting his head up he grinned toward her, "Care to explain that?" His eyes flashed behind Hinata quickly and his grin widened. "I didn't realize you'd moved in."

The moment Hinata opened her mouth to stutter out a reply, her face turning a light pink, a presence behind her made her jump slightly.

"Hey! What the hell are you doing here?" Stepping alongside Hinata he glanced down on her, his annoyance ebbing momentarily as he gave her a calm look. "Unless you invited them?" Hinata shook her head, still surprised by his sudden appearance. She watched in awe as he the resumed glaring toward her two teammates.

"Looking for your girlfriend," Kiba answered with a teasing tone.

"We've tried to find you for a couple of days," Shino calmly explained to her, not turning away from the window, "you have not been home and we ran out of places to look."

"Who would've figured you'd be here?" Kiba laughed mockingly. "Although it's a lot neater than I remember."

Not paying any mind to the girlfriend comment, Hinata almost wondered if Naruto had even heard it as he walked briskly into his apartment, tossing his jacket onto Kiba's face. Following his lead, Hinata also steped fully into the apartment, closing the door softly behind her.

Kiba, removing the jacket and sitting upright with a wide grin across his face, looked toward Naruto expectantly, perhaps hoping for some sort of confrontation. But when Naruto ignored him, Hinata watched as his grin fell.

"Hey," Naruto stepped in front of her, lightly placing a hand on her arm as he spoke, "I'm going to go take a shower. Go ahead and tell them what happened; I'll be back in a little bit."

Nodding slowly, her eyes fixated on his kind, gentle face, she watched—almost entranced—as he walked away and into the lone bathroom.

It was silent for a couple of long seconds before Kiba stood up abruptly.

"What," pointing with frustration toward the closed bathroom door, "the hell was _that_?"

Hinata would've smiled if the situation had been any different, but instead she shook her head as she approached her teammates. "Naruto is…" she hesitated momentarily, "it's been a rough day."

"That still doesn't explain why you're here?" Kiba asked, with a raised eyebrow and crossed arms. "And why you've been here for literal _days_."

Sighing, Hinata sat herself down on the couch, waiting for Kiba to sit back down and for Shino to turn his attention toward her before speaking again.

It didn't take her long to go over the entire situation with the two of them; after all, she'd had plenty of practice from telling Tenten and Naruto about it all. By the time she finished Kiba had begun staring at the wall with an angry look and Shino had turned back toward the window.

"What the fuck?" Kiba eventually declared, Akamaru whining at his side in agreement. "You'd think they'd have some goddamn decency about this type of shit!"

"Naruto offered to talk with the elders, but…"

"That's perfect!" Kiba declared, turning toward her and grinning. "He's the hero of the entire damn world, they'd _have_ to at least listen to him."

"I agree," Shino spoke, chiming in as he approached them, "Naruto is highly important to the village and to all shinobi. He's your best bet at getting Neji a proper funeral."

"And it doesn't hurt that you'll probably end up marrying the guy," Kiba added on nonchalantly, "So if they want to keep the heiress happy, they'll have to cooperate."

Hinata found herself taken aback by his words. "Kiba," she whispered harshly, eyes fluttering over toward the closed bathroom door, "not so loud!"

Kiba and Shino exchanged a knowing look before turning back toward her. "Look," Kiba said, rolling his eyes, "I say talk to Naruto, let him talk to them, and then hopefully we'll get Neji his funeral in no time at all!" Grinning toward her he reached down and scratched the top of Akamaru's head. "Right boy?" Akamaru merely barked in reply.

Hinata giggled slightly, happy to have her team by her side and aware of the situation she was in. Leaning down she scratched under Akamaru's chin, giggling louder when the large dog jumped up on her and licked her face.

"Alright boy, let's go," Kiba laughed, standing up and walking toward the door.

"You're leaving?" Hinata asked, standing up as her teammates approached the door.

"Well, yeah," Kiba said, turning toward her and offering a slight shrug. "It seems like you two have things under control." He waited for a moment before speaking again, louder this time, "We wouldn't want to intrude on you two lovebirds now, would we Shino?"

Ignoring his teammate, Shino merely opened the door and promptly left. Kiba grinned again, wickedly. "Just remember you kids, be safe!"

And with that statement and a wink, he slammed the door behind him a little too roughly.

Hinata didn't jump until she heard Naruto suddenly behind her.

"What was he talking about?" He asked, grimacing.

"Nothing," Hinata spoke, turning around a little too quickly, her face just a _little_ too red.

Naruto raised an eyebrow as he studied her face, before nodding slowly. "Kiba's weird." Raising an arm he rubbed the back of his neck, a frown still on his face.

It was at that point when Hinata realized how close they were standing to one another. She then became _very_ aware of Naruto's bare, naked chest mere centimeters from her face. Her eyes followed the water droplets from where they trailed down his chest, past his abs, stopping at the towel he had wrapped around his waist.

It took her a couple long seconds to return to her senses and when she realized what she was doing—openly ogling Naruto's body—her eyes snapped up to his face. But she was taken aback when she found him staring right back at her, a look on his face that she'd never seen before. His eyes were looking back at her, trailing down her body and back up again, an almost dazed expression across his features.

It was a look she'd never seen on his face before, but after a long moment, somehow she immediately placed it.

Eyes widening she could do nothing but stand frozen as he placed a hand around her waist, holding her firmly in place. With his other hand he placed a hand against her face, rubbing his thumb gently across her cheek.

She was shaking on the inside but on the outside she remained perfectly still, not moving a single inch in any direction. For a moment she wondered if this was really happening or if this was just a dream; with the light feeling she felt throughout her body, it must been a dream, she mused.

When she watched his eyes find her own before flickering down to her lips, her heart rate started to speed up to an almost dangerous speed.

But just before he began to lean down toward her, she panicked.

"I—um, I need to use the bathroom?"

Making the mistake of wording her excuse as a question, she cursed herself as she scurried away to the bathroom, swiftly closing the door behind her and leaning her back against it.

_What did I just do? What was happening? Did he… was he...?_

Hand shooting upward to her cheek, she pressed her fingertips against the skin that was still tingling from where he'd touched it.

Shaking her head she walked up to the sink and turned on the cold water, preparing to wash her face and perhaps snap her out of the strange, almost embarrassing haze she found herself in.

Though when she found herself unable to rid the fresh memory of the feeling of his hand against her cheek from her mind, Hinata realized it was going to be a long, frustrating night.


End file.
